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I have never heard a Latin American describe himself as "Spanish" It's the other people that do that, whites and blacks do it all the time. They probably do it because the only word they know is Spanish for the language. Most Latin Americans don't really care about Spain unless they are one of those few Cubans or Argentinians who think they are European.
I have never heard a Latin American describe himself as "Spanish" It's the other people that do that, whites and blacks do it all the time. They probably do it because the only word they know is Spanish for the language. Most Latin Americans don't really care about Spain unless they are one of those few Cubans or Argentinians who think they are European.
In California we definitely don't. The only people who describe themselves as Spanish, are the actual Spaniards ...whether they immigrated to the U.S., or sons/daughters of immigrants that did. Most likely just tourists, as we they are low in numbers compared to other European nationalities that love Los Angeles (the Brits, the French and the Scandinavians/Swedes for example).
Either way, Latin Americans use their nationality first, or I have also heard people use broader terms like "suramericano" or 'centro-americano". The south Americans in California tend to group themselves together as there aren't that many compared to Mexicans and Central Americans. So, you'll find an Argentinean empanada place for example, that has a market attached...and that market will also cater to Colombians, Uruguayans, Brazilians, Chileans etc.
Here in Canada I have seen some "Latin" Markets try to cater to everyone. You will see adds or store signs that say "productos de Mexico, Centro & Sud America". Rarely do you see stores catering to one specific group or region, but that probably has to do with none of these groups being very numerous here.
I have never heard a Latin American describe himself as "Spanish" It's the other people that do that, whites and blacks do it all the time. They probably do it because the only word they know is Spanish for the language. Most Latin Americans don't really care about Spain unless they are one of those few Cubans or Argentinians who think they are European.
That's very true Sugar Ray....me either...
This is what I love about the "politically correct" race baiters and the like running around to and fro these days. They go out of their way to be inclusive and not offend people when in reality it has quite the opposite affect and they end up looking foolish and incredibly ignorant in the process.
Even so in Argentina there's usually a bit of negativity when talking about associating things or people with Spain. They exclusively use the term "gallegos" ( which is a person from Gallecia in Spain ) but they use this almost exclusively to describe anyone from Spain, which isn't a compliment.
They also say that someone: "Este es un gallego cuadrado" meaning a kind of boring, un educated person who is unimaginative and "square"
Quite ironic...
Even so Spain is held in quite high regard on the other hand, as is Italy and Germany, here in Argentina.
This is what I love about the "politically correct" race baiters and the like running around to and fro these days. They go out of their way to be inclusive and not offend people when in reality it has quite the opposite affect and they end up looking foolish and incredibly ignorant in the process.
Even so in Argentina there's usually a bit of negativity when talking about associating things or people with Spain. They exclusively use the term "gallegos" ( which is a person from Gallecia in Spain ) but they use this almost exclusively to describe anyone from Spain, which isn't a compliment.
They also say that someone: "Este es un gallego cuadrado" meaning a kind of boring, un educated person who is unimaginative and "square"
Quite ironic...
Even so Spain is held in quite high regard on the other hand, as is Italy and Germany, here in Argentina.
In the case of Miami and New York, there are many "gallegos" that were settled in Latin American countries and fled to the US. Such is the case of the Spanish colony in Cuba, that was very large and ended in Miami, and the large Spanish colony in Venezuela, some returning to Spain and some to Miami.
Chavez is doing the same thing that in Cuba, expropiating lands and business owned by Spanish, so the ones with some money fled some time ago.
The Spanish that really did it Latin America, after many expulsions, are the ones in Mexico. The richest Spanish are there.
I guess that Argentina will go the same way with time, not much time.
In Miami and NY you find markets, restaurants, etc, that are Spanish. Miami was the first place that could import large amount of Spanish products during the 60's, something that was impossible in NY due to Italian Maffia. The Spanish olive oil could not enter into the US until that time.
It's quite baffling that any liquor store in Miami carries more Spanish labels that some Liquor stores here, brands unknown in Spain and prices very competitive. The problem is to import pork products, since US rackets impose laws to bar their entry.
People that use derogatory words are stupid and ignorant, there are also derogatory names to designate Argentinians but only scum uses such words.
Latin is preceived as a word that designates Mexicans, so many people don't like that word. Other don't like it because such word designates a different ethnic group.
Nobody, except Spanish born Spanish or Spanish citizens, call themselve Spanish in the US, that's idiotic. The only people that call Spanish to all Spanish speaking people are blacks, or rural middle americans.
Bolivia and Peru have got to be the most segregated countries in Latin America, there is truly a racial distinction between whites and indians.
As far as white latin American cities, yes in the old days, up until the 70's even most latin american capitals and cities where largely european, that is changing with migration of indigenous people towards the cities.
Lima Peru is an example... in the 50's it was largely white/European, now its largely indigenous (migrants from the andes coming to the capital looking for work have taken over) while white lima fellas self-segregate in middle class and or upper class neighborhoods.
Medelllin colombia is another example, at a point in time it was heavily Basque/white... the common norm in the city was that the average Medellin folk had green eyes, sometimes even blonde hair, (Paisas they're called), today that is over.... the city is vastly mulato, mestizo and that is due to the massive movement of poor mixed race peasants from the countryside to the cities looking for opportunities.
The real paisas concentrate on certain neighborhoods or moved to the towns around Medellin.
That is also happening in the US!!
It has to do with the old latin american tradition of the unofficial racial caste system..... the poor multiply more and are now taking over demographically. Even in my hometown (a small town outside medellin in the coffee region) when I was a little girl most people looked pretty much white/european... I remember in the 90's seeing black people from other region of colombia and staring at them because you hardly would see one..... nowadays there are tons of blacks and zambos (black,indian,white mixes) in my little town, the blonde haired blue eyed locals live in the countryside around it now.
Bolivia and Peru have got to be the most segregated countries in Latin America, there is truly a racial distinction between whites and indians.
As far as white latin American cities, yes in the old days, up until the 70's even most latin american capitals and cities where largely european, that is changing with migration of indigenous people towards the cities.
Lima Peru is an example... in the 50's it was largely white/European, now its largely indigenous (migrants from the andes coming to the capital looking for work have taken over) while white lima fellas self-segregate in middle class and or upper class neighborhoods.
Medelllin colombia is another example, at a point in time it was heavily Basque/white... the common norm in the city was that the average Medellin folk had green eyes, sometimes even blonde hair, (Paisas they're called), today that is over.... the city is vastly mulato, mestizo and that is due to the massive movement of poor mixed race peasants from the countryside to the cities looking for opportunities.
The real paisas concentrate on certain neighborhoods or moved to the towns around Medellin.
That is also happening in the US!!
It has to do with the old latin american tradition of the unofficial racial caste system..... the poor multiply more and are now taking over demographically. Even in my hometown (a small town outside medellin in the coffee region) when I was a little girl most people looked pretty much white/european... I remember in the 90's seeing black people from other region of colombia and staring at them because you hardly would see one..... nowadays there are tons of blacks and zambos (black,indian,white mixes) in my little town, the blonde haired blue eyed locals live in the countryside around it now.
Medelllin colombia is another example, at a point in time it was heavily Basque/white... the common norm in the city was that the average Medellin folk had green eyes, sometimes even blonde hair, (Paisas they're called), today that is over.... the city is vastly mulato, mestizo and that is due to the massive movement of poor mixed race peasants from the countryside to the cities looking for opportunities. The real paisas concentrate on certain neighborhoods or moved to the towns around Medellin.
The real paisas? Are you for REAL?
Green eyes and blonde hair have never been very common in Medellin because most people European ancestry is Spanish and Spaniards themselves rarely have blue/green eyes or blonde hair. There was some Basque heritage but they were not the majority, it's just that those with Basque last names reproduced more than those with Castillian last names so Basque last names are more common now that in the past. For example my mother's maiden name(from Valladolid) was well known in the 1600's and now it's extremely rare to the point that only people related to us have that last name.
Also there has always been a significant amount of mixed people in Medellin. Of course the rich were mostly white and those were the ones who could afford portraits but when you see pictures of common people in Medellin you will see the area has always looked very mixed. The Spaniards that settled there lived among the Amerindians and slaves and they mixed. Looking "white" doesn't necessarily mean you are 100% white.
These are pictures from regular people either in the late 60's or early 70's(I can't find the dates even though I found them before). People already looked very mixed back then.
It has to do with the old latin american tradition of the unofficial racial caste system..... the poor multiply more and are now taking over demographically. Even in my hometown (a small town outside medellin in the coffee region) when I was a little girl most people looked pretty much white/european... I remember in the 90's seeing black people from other region of colombia and staring at them because you hardly would see one..... nowadays there are tons of blacks and zambos (black,indian,white mixes) in my little town, the blonde haired blue eyed locals live in the countryside around it now.
They might have looked white but I doubt they were 100% white. Blonde hair and blue eyes? nonsense. The "real paisas" as you called them are not just the people that look "white". We have seen the records ourselves of these so called "white towns" and the blacks and Amerindians have been there for centuries. They didn't all come from el Choco in the 80's and 90's.
Last edited by Sugah Ray; 05-05-2015 at 10:49 AM..
Green eyes and blonde hair have never been very common in Medellin because most people European ancestry is Spanish and Spaniards themselves rarely have blue/green eyes or blonde hair. There was some Basque heritage but they were not the majority, it's just that those with Basque last names reproduced more than those with Castillian last names so Basque last names are more common now that in the past.
Also there has always been a significant amount of mixed people in Medellin. Of course the rich were mostly white and those were the ones who could afford portraits but when you see pictures of common people in Medellin you will see the area has always looked very mixed. The Spaniards that settled there lived among the Amerindians and slaves and they mixed. Looking "white" doesn't necessarily mean you are 100% white.
These are pictures from regular people either in the late 60's or early 70's(I can't find the dates even though I found them before). People already looked very mixed back then.
paisas are mostly descendants of basques and jews, not ethnic spaniards.
I am from el oriente antioqueno, I am use to "monos montañeros" the real paisa! All those guys from the communas of medellin and bello are mostly descendants of immigrants from the (Antioquia conquistada) all those towns in northern antioquia towards the Cauca river.
paisas are mostly descendants of basques and jews, not ethnic spaniards.
I am from el oriente antioqueno, I am use to "monos montañeros" the real paisa! All those guys from the communas of medellin and bello are mostly descendants of immigrants from the (Antioquia conquistada) all those towns in northern antioquia towards the Cauca river.
My mother's family is from Oriente from Marinilla, Yarumal, Santa Rosa, those so called "white towns". We have seen the records. There were many African people and Amerindian back in the 1800's there and yes some people in our family have green eyes but it is not the majority and no one has blonde hair, just light brown. By the way I used to be called "a mona" and I am a brunette. They just have a different definition of blonde there.
I don't know who made those people the "real paisas" There is no such thing, Paisa is the whole department including the blacker areas in Uraba. I guess just because Tomas Carrasquilla wrote some short stories from that area that makes them real paisas. Sounds pretty racist if you ask me.
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